Odisha woman missing from Goa police station

Bhubaneswar:The Crime Branch of Goa police has launched a probe into the mysterious disappearance of a 22-year-old woman from Odisha who went missing from a local police station amid reports of rape by a police inspector, sources said today.

Ironically, the police swung into action almost one-and-a-half month after the mysteriouys incident and that too when the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked the state DGP of Goa to look into the allegations of rape, they said. The identity of the missing is not known reportedly.

According to the sources in police, the woman was brought to Canacona police station, located 80 kms away from here, when she was found loitering in the local market area there. The woman had stayed with a local family overnight before she was taken to the police station, they said. The local police had claimed that the woman disappeared while her statement was being recorded by them without elaborating further.

Sources said the National Human Rights Commission has written a letter to the Director General of Police Aditya Arya asking him to investigate into allegations of rape involving police inspector of Canacona police station.

Following the directive from DGP`s office, the crime branch has launched a detailed probe under Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sanjay Singh. Apparently under pressure to trace the woman, police have launched a massive manhunt in the area besides announcing a cash reward of Rs 10,000 on anyone giving information about her.

However, according to the sources the preliminary inquiry report submitted by the Crime Branch has ruled out the possibility of rape even as a team has been dispatched to Orissa. The incident has come as a huge embarrassment for Goa Police in the backdrop of allegations that a constable had recently sought oral sex from a rescued victim of flesh trade in the police station itself.